Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Lake Compounce

What do you do the day after a tropical storm hits? Why, go to an amusement park, of course!

It was Mike's company picnic at Lake Compounce. Private Party Y'all - Wooot! The day could NOT have been nicer. Low 80's. Sunny. Perfection.

We got there a wee bit before 1:00, just as the park was opening for us. (Did I mention is was a private amusement park party?) We had never been to Lake Compounce before so we just wandered a bit. The first ride we came to was The Wildcat. I would say the Wildcat is a medium intensity roller coaster - perfect for me and my 8 1/2 yr. old who is adventurous but not crazy.

We (Mike, Magoo, and me) were the only ones on the ride. We took the first two seats. Then up, up, up we climbed.

It's kinda crazy when you come over that first hill. My first thought was This isn't so bad. Then when we kept dangling further and further over the abyss, I thought This is a 90 degree drop! We're going straight down!

Of course it's not. It's probably more like a 45 degree angle, but HOLY MOLY it felt steep. It was super fun though. Lots of twists and hills, lots of laughters. No barf.

We pulled into the loading station and since no other passengers were in line, we got to take another go-'round.

When we pulled in to the loading station a second time, Magoo said, "I think that's enough."

I seconded the emotion.

We were all feeling pretty jazzed. So we decided to ride this:

It's called Thunder and Lightening and it's basically like a giant pendulum. You sit at the bottom in the chairs and you swing back and forth. You swing so high you can only see the sky. Then you swing back and can only see the ground.

It. Was. Horrible.

Zero fun.

As soon and I felt the G's in the first "tiny" swing, I knew I had made a big mistake.

When we reached the top heights all I could do was close my eyes and go to my happy place. I was in full logic zone: It will end soon. It will end soon. Just hold on. It will stop soon.

I don't know how anyone finds that fun. I think it should be used as a form of punishment.

We were all a little shakey after that one. I think Magoo was alright though. I don't think he loved it, but I don't think it shook him to the core, like it did to Mike and myself.

We rode a few more rides. Some more pleasant than others. I really started to feel a little old. My body was responding differently to the movement of the rides. I felt more like I was in danger than I was having fun. Maybe Thunder and Lightening messed me up more than I cared to admit.

Mike decided to sit the Saw Mill Plunge out. This was actually very pleasant. It's your typical water log ride. You go up, you have lots of twists and turns in the water, then BOOM big drop.

Magoo and I sat in the front and didn't get too wet.

The Bumper Cars, unfortunately, were less calming. Magoo got pinned in by a kid who couldn't drive well. I was zipping around without hesitation, but Magoo couldn't get out from his wedged in position. By the time he was wriggling free, the ride was over.

See this smile? This is the BEFORE expression. The AFTER expression featured the tears of bitter disappointment.

But that was short-lived because it was time to hit the WATER PARK!

I LOVE a good water park. And I've learned what I like and dislike to help me choose the best rides for maximum enjoyment.

I like to see. Pitch black water slides are unpleasant for me. I never know when to close my eyes or cover my nose and it's not uncommon for me to emerge from the dark semi-blind and with the taste of chlorine in the back of my throat.

I like slides with inner tubes. I can certainly ride a regular slide, but when there's a tube full of air to absorb the shock - that's all the better.

I don't like giant novelty bucket of cold water poured on top of me. When I went into the kid's water play yard with Magoo that happened to me. Twice. Then I was like, You're on your own, kid.

The water park at Lake Compounce is probably about the third of the size as the water park at Six Flags - but we got all the major components in. And you didn't have to walk miles and miles to get from one ride to another.

Despite my list of things I dislike (and those are just general water park things - not specific to any one park) - it was super fun. There were plenty of things that I did like and I especially liked the fact that I was at a PRIVATE PARTY and it wasn't crowded at all.

After about 90 minutes, we dried off, put our clothes back on, played some games, and were outta there by 5pm.

It was an awesome afternoon and a lovely way to close out the summer.

Tomorrow, I take Magoo into the school to see his third grade classroom and to meet his teacher. And Thursday is his first day of school. (Clap, clap, clap!)